Martin Wickremasinghe:

Infusing new life to a great author

by Kalakeerthi Edwin Ariyadasa

“Great Martin Wickremasinghe’s epic achievement continues to ring reverberatingly down the corridors of Sri Lanka’s long tradition of literature. With the passage of time, new phases of communication invariably emerge.

But, the voice of this great genius, raises undiminished echoes, in the sophisticated modern media-cinema, television and sound broadcasting – unerringly establishing the time-defying stamina of his original vision” - “Karuwela Gedara” - an anthology of essays on the teledrama “Karuwela Gedara.”

How old is Martin Wickremasinghe?

In the first instance, your response to this question could very well be a stunned surprise.

In a moment, you will recover, and will assure yourself that it is asked to establish a rhetorical effect. You got me right there.

Biographical details relating to Martin Wickremasinghe are widely scattered in the public domain.

A special effort need not be wasted to ascertain his age.

Anniversary

Some pre-eminent men and women, in the recent history of Sri Lanka, have been avidly celebrated in the media. Martin Wickremasinghe is decidedly in this privileged coterie.

May 29 this year marked the 124th anniversary of his birth. In a context where this event is accorded considerable national significance, it is redundant to ask how old he is.

But my question has a larger implication, over and above being a mere rhetorical flourish.

It is 38 years, since his passing away at the age of 86, in 1976. How has his sumptuous oeuvre fared, after he bade adieu, to life, which so lavishly provided him the raw material for his extensive range of creations?

Is his reputation ageing? Or, does it continue to be discovered a fresh, by succeeding generations? Has, in any way, the appeal of his creative efforts faded?

My emphatic reaction to all these hesitations is that Martin Wickremasinghe’s robust presence at the centre in Sri Lankan discourses on culture, literature and related issues will continue to be felt in the years to come as well.

I say this with reason.

In a childhood spent in a picturesque setting, in Sri Lanka’s southern region, he imbibed, amply and deeply, the joie de vivre of untrammelled freedom to grow up.

At one edge of his home village, the Indian Ocean stretched seamlessly into the far horizon.

On the landward-side, the thick copses, erupting with life, were the nature’s cordial backoning to the young adenturer, to eplore what these promising thickets could offer.

The lure of the wild, was made further enticing, by the stream that nourished the forest.

Accompanied by equally care-free village children, young Martin would roam to his heart’s content.

Environment

But, in his dealings with the environment, endowed upon this well-knit rural community, there was a keenly distinct difference. That was young Martin’s ultra-sensitive ‘feel’ for what the world could give him. It was, more pronounced than the merely routine sense of curiosity, which is a built-in component of the inner being of any average child.

Martin’s brand of curiosity propelled him to probe and pursue. He focussed upon the living organisms – big and small – in the sea around him.

Enamoured by the generosity of the pageant of life around him, he developed a deep fondness and affection, for the uninhibiting way of life he experienced as a new comer to human existence.

His deeply entrenched obsession with these childhood delights, provided him with a sustained supply of ‘fuel’ for his later creativity.

This engrossed preoccupation with the freedom of his childhood days, generated the productive nostalgia, for his maturity in creative expression.

It is, again, this undiminished nostalgia, that has made him a singular creative genius, possessing an unfading appeal.

Drawing upon his undiminishing treasure-trove of childhood memories, he began his creative writing, to counter the frustrations, brought on by the ‘sick-hurry’ of urban urges, which were in total contrast to the freedom he relished in his home village.

His works, enable succeeding generations to conjure up a way of life, that may no longer be their living reality.

As Sri Lanka continues to face the unstoppable urbanisation of new generations of readers will discover his short-stories, such works of fiction such as Gamperaliya and Karuwalagedara.

Factors

There is a multiplicity of factors, that will not allow, anyone to ask the rhetorical question, how old is Martin Wickremasinghe.

One major initiative, is the admirable three-part tome by writer W.A. Abeysinghe, who narrates the creative evolution of Martin Wickremasinghe, with an epic elegance.

Then there is the ‘Martin Wickremasinghe Trust’ that continuously infuses new life to M.W. saga.

The most impressive factor that enables the works of Martin Wickremasinghe to flourish with undiminished appeal is the freshness these works exude to each new the generation of readers.

Eventually, Martin Wickremasinghe will be everybody’s contemporary, making the rhetorical posture “How old is Martin Wickremasinghe,” passé.